A Rose by Any Other Name
by xoLassyxo
Summary: A troyella fanfic. First story ever! :D ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Since this is in real-time and based on my life, and my life has sort of gotten stuck in the same spot for a while now, the story will end at Ch 10. Keep reviewing!
1. Chapter 1

_Oh baby don't you know I suffer?  
Oh baby can you hear me moan?  
You caught me under false pretenses  
How long before you let me go?_

"Hey, can I sit with you?"

I looked up from my Honors World History textbook, and saw myself staring at the strangest eyes I had ever seen. They were hazel; green in a certain kind of light; and had the appearance of a whirlwind. The way the colors mottled together, one melting into the other, made an almost nauseating pattern. Despite the strangely intoxicating look of the irises, the person's eyes were actually quite attractive…and strangely familiar. I felt my lips curl up into a smile.

Someone snickered behind me, and I immediately felt the blood rush into my cheeks. I looked down, hoping my thick chestnut hair would hide my blush. "Uh, sure," I mumbled, afraid to look up again. That wasn't like me-usually, I would have shot back some kind of smart remark, or ignored them completely.

"Thanks," the unknown voice said. I looked up in spite of myself and gave the person a quick once-over. Male. _Since when do hot guys ask to sit with me? Besides to copy my tests? And that can't be it, considering we're in Choir. _ He was tall, even when sitting, bronze hair, nice tan. _Of course he has a tan-we ARE in Albuquerque. _

I sighed. Just another way I didn't fit in here-while everyone else was tan and sporty-looking, my skin was almost translucent. My mother complimented me, calling my skin "alabaster." My girlfriends used more appropriate words, like "ghost."

_Whatever. _I straightened my shoulders and looked straight ahead. I fit in just fine-I just wasn't a Barbie. I knew that well enough; in fact, I'd never questioned it before. I knew I looked more like I was from Jersey than Albuquerque. It had never bothered me until now. Why was I suddenly so self-conscious?

"So, what's your name?" I jumped again. Crap-I needed to stop getting distracted so easily. It would probably be a problem when we were taking the SATs. The boy was looking at me intently again, with those strange hazel eyes, pulling me in…

To avoid possible hypnosis, I swallowed and looked at the floor, wondering what was the matter with me today. "Gabriella."

He said something that I didn't hear. I was completely lost in my swirl of thoughts. I looked up long enough to see that he was offering me a hand. I stared at it for a second. What did he expect me to do with that?

_Oh, right. Shake it_. I did so, mortified.

_What the hell is happening to me? _I thought. _What is it about this guy who I've known for, what, forty seconds that makes me so…shy?_

"So…" He began to start small talk, but suddenly, I was overwhelmed by a whiff of Bath&Body Works Cotton Dream body spray. I smiled, realizing that the scent could only mean one person-my best friend, Taylor McKessie.

"Hey girl!" She pulled me into a vise-like hug. I grinned, glad she'd saved me from the awkward conversation that was no doubt about to occur.

"Hey Taylor! Sit with me?" Taylor grinned and plopped down into the seat on the other side of me. I saw her eyes wander over to the boy. It would be rude not to introduce them, right? "Oh, uh, this is…"

"Troy Bolton," he said, and that was when it hit me. Oh my god-it was _him. How could I have forgotten my biggest crush of junior high?! I liked him way more than any of my other crushes_…I gulped, flashing back to 7th grade.

_Gabriella sits down on the hard stool, waiting for her name to be called so that she can audition for her school performance of "Musical School High." She is anxious to go, but not really nervous-the ocean in her stomach had passed a few hours ago. There was only one person she wants to impress here, and it isn't the director. Finally, Miss Kaufman calls her name. She goes up to the makeshift stage, asks for a starting pitch, and suddenly belts out the first few notes of "We're All In This Together." The voice grows, and she starts improvising, adding in random dance moves and finishing with a strung out note-"make our dreams come truuuuuuuuue." She steps down lightly, enjoying the clapping and whistles for once, and suddenly looks up and sees Troy Bolton, the most amazing male singer in the school, staring at her intently…_

"You okay, Gabi?" Taylor said, yanking me out of the flashback. I blinked and nodded.

Troy opened his mouth to say something, but thank God, the teacher walked in at that very second. I looked up at the ceiling and mouthed to word "thanks."

"All right, let's get this started. Hello, children! I am Miss Alagna, your choral advisor." She wrote her name in block letters on the board. "That's _ah-lah-nn-yah,_" she said, enunciating each syllable. "Say it with me: Ah-lah-nyah. Not ah-log-na, or ah-lag-na, ah-lah-nya."

"Ah-lah-nyah," we repeated faithfully. I smiled. Miss Ahlahnya was someone I could get along with.

"Excellent," she beamed, giving the class a once-over. "Now, I'm going to break you into 5 sections: Tenor, Bass, Alto, Soprano I, and Soprano II. I'll need to hear you all, so when you hear your name, come up to the piano and sing a full scale and arpeggio. Christine Amancer?"

"Not here," someone piped up. I slid into a more comfortable position in my chair-my name was an M, so I'd be here a while.

"Troy Bolton?"

I jumped, and he looked at me funny before going up to the stage. _Damn-you GOTTA stop that._

Taylor looked at me questioningly, but I shook my head, indicating we'd talk about it later.

* * *

After Choir, Taylor and I were walking to our classes. Of course, Taylor had remembered the Troy incident, and was interrogating me.

"So, do you like him?" she asked for the millionth time.

"No! Taylor, come on. I hardly know him," I protested weakly.

"No, you come on. I saw the way you looked at him…and the way he looked at you." She winked coyly. "I think he's got a thing for you too."

"Since when did you become Dr. Phil?" I teased, but inside I was dying to know if Taylor was right. _He likes me?! Could that even be possible?! I mean, sure, I had a crush on him before, but could it be possible that he liked me back?!_

She saw through me, of course. "Well, it's a good he's been moved to the front row," she mused. He had turned out Tenor. I was Alto, as usual, and she was a Soprano, meaning she was on the other side of the room. Craaap…who would distract me from the beautiful disaster of Troy Bolton's eyes? Dayum, those eyes…I slapped myself unthinkingly, not wanting to remember. I did NOT like Troy Bolton.

Taylor looked at me and opened her mouth, then thought about it and just shook her head.

"What do you mean, good thing he moved?" I said, trying to distract her from my random self-slapping. I knew very well what she'd answer.

She shrugged. "You won't jump on him when you hear his name, at least." I rolled my eyes. "Gotta go-my class is thataway," she said, squeezing me in a quick hug before skipping into the gymnasium. I giggled appreciatively, then dragged myself to Spanish.

* * *

Thank God I had B Lunch. One half-hour of listening to my idiot classmates chitchat with an equally intelligent teacher had taken quite a toll on me. _Why, oh why did I switch from Italian? I KNEW I'd be in a class full of kids that weren't smart enough for Spanish II. _I sighed. Too late now-no transfers until 2nd semester. I would have to stick it out.

"Hey, Gabriella!" My friends Kelsi and Martha Cox waved me over to a table in the corner under some D.A.R.E posters. I smiled and waved back, scurrying to grab a seat. On the way, I tripped over a Snapple can and fell flat on my face, banging my head against a table leg in the process. _Oh, shit! Stupid littering jerk! _

"Gabriella?" A painfully familiar voice called to me.

_Shit, shit, shit. Please don't be who I think it is._ I looked up into a pair of hypnotizing, concerned hazel eyes.

_Shiiiiit._

"Gabriella, are you all right?" Troy asked. He looked nervous…and intoxicating. I wonder how hard I'd hit my head.

"Oh, yeah, it's nothing. I'm fine." I tried to sit up, and found that I could do so without too much of a head rush. Troy offered his hand again, and this time I took it, blushing when I felt the warmth. I felt myself smile at him, and he grinned back, looking a lot like a little boy who had just announced that he was potty-trained. I giggled softly. He looked at me again, this time with a soft look around his eyes. What was he thinking?

"What's so funny?" a sharp voice demanded. I whirled around, almost falling over again. A statuesque blonde stood in front of me. She had piercing blue eyes-much bluer than mine-and wore a pink sequined halter top with a matching short-sleeved shrug, and denim short shorts, and wedge heel flip-flops. Very pretty-but the scowl on her face kind of ruined the beauty. Troy looked at the floor, like he'd done something wrong.

"Uhh, nothing," I said, backing away from the girl's cold stare. "I was just-"

"Whatever." Blondie brushed past me, flipping her perfect hair. "C'mon Troy, I need you to come to my locker with me."

_His girlfriend. Well, damn! _I felt my stomach sink into my toes. I _knew _he couldn't have reciprocated even a fraction of what I'd felt for him in 7th grade. My mind spun into another flashback…

* * *

_Gabriella sees him through the crowd, looking for his parents, dodging all the little fans. Everyone is congratulating him, telling him he was so good up there. _Do it already, _she tells herself, and she starts walking towards Troy…_

"_There you are, Gabi," says her current boyfriend Bob. "You were so great!"_

_Gabi smiles and they hug. She looks over Bob's shoulder and sees Troy, hugging a girl. Her heart sinks. She is about to leave with Bob when suddenly Troy catches her eye, and they stare…_

_

* * *

  
_

"Gabi?" Kelsi looked at me like I had 3 heads. I snapped out of it.

"Hey, Kels!" I wrapped her into a hug.

She wasn't convinced. "Gabi, what was that?"

"What was what?" I asked innocently, but my blush gave it away.

"Gab, come on. I know you. What happened with him?"

I sighed, looking at Troy and Blondie walk into the cafeteria. Blondie had a satisfied smirk on her face. "I don't know, Kelsi. I really don't know."

**A/N: First chapter ever on FanFiction! Review pleeeease if you wanna know what happens next! :)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

_I thought I was a fool for no one  
Oh baby I'm a fool for you  
You're the king of the superficial  
And how long before you tell the truth?_

After what felt like eternity, the bell to move on to my last period class rang. For once I was grateful for the nasal buzz that usually brought on a migraine. I hurried through the crowded hallways, weaving between the upperclassmen, eager to get to the auditorium for Drama class. This was the highlight of my day. I smiled as I approached the table outside of the locked auditorium when I saw Martha and Taylor already sitting there, chatting.

"Hey guys! Martha, I didn't know you were into drama!" I gave her a hug and we started chatting about the rumors we'd all heard about the drama teacher, Miss Darbus. We were giggling about her apparent obsession with gypsy skirts when suddenly, a strange look crossed Taylor's face.

"Taylor, what's wrong?" asked Martha, but it was too late-I'd already turned to see what she was staring at. _No! Not two classes in a day with him! _I groaned, flopping down onto the table dramatically. _This is so unfair. _

Troy seemed to become aware of my presence the same time I became aware of his. He looked up and waved. I smiled, blushing again.

Taylor got a mischievous look on her face. "Well, Gabriella, if you had doubts about the teacher, now we know you'll _love _this class." She and Martha snickered.

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up," I muttered.

A rather large older woman wearing drapery around her shoulders and a paisley wrap skirt brushed past me. I almost choked on her Jean Nate. "All right children, let's adjourn to the chapel of the arts, shall we?" she said in a moist yet withered voice. We adjourned.

"Okay. Hello, young whippersnappers," she said, giving the class a once-over. "Well, let's get the meet-and-greet thing over with. I am Cassie Darbus, and I shall be your instructor in dramatic art. Before I can do so, I need to find out more about you. So let's make the rounds, shall we? You there," she snapped, pointing a long fingernail in my direction. I started to speak, but an easily recognizable voice behind me spoke first.

"Who, me?" said Troy, flustered. I jumped again. _Stop it! _

Miss Darbus rolled her eyes, pausing at the ceiling. She made a few unintelligible sounds, and continued. "Yes, you. Go."

Troy looked away. "Uhh…well…I like to sing, and I…wanna be on Broadway, and you have to act to be on that, so here I am." He leaned back, looking satisfied. I could've sworn I saw him smirk at me. _Swoon. No- no swoon. I do NOT like Troy Bolton. _

Miss Darbus started calling other people. When she got to me, I had been whispering with Taylor, so she caught me off guard…again. Troy laughed when I jumped, causing me to practically fall over in shock. Darbus rolled her eyes. "Any day now," she droned.

I swallowed hard and stood. "Well, I'm Gabriella Montez, and I like to, uh, act, so…yeah." _Stupid-I sound like a preschooler. _Troy was staring at me again-I could feel his eyes burning a hole through my head. I turned around, only to see him look away so fast I might have imagined it. I sighed, then sat down.

Darbus looked satisfied. "Okay, class-I want to show you a video of some of East High's most remarkable performances. First, we have the ever-popular musical _Mountain Greenery…_" She gestured toward the television in the corner. "Enjoy!" She clapped twice, and the lights went out.

Two people on the screen began singing about green pastures. I sighed and leaned back, muttering to Taylor, "This is gonna be a long one." She rolled her eyes, pulled out a notebook, and her and Martha started passing notes. I was about to join, when suddenly I became aware of a warm, ticklish feeling on the back of my neck. I whirled around and faced Troy, who was leaning over me with an appraising expression on his face.

We stared at each other for a few seconds. I sighed-even in the dark, his eyes were so beautiful. It was as if our eyes were connected somehow-whispers of electricity were zapping through the sockets and into my bone structure. I wondered if he felt that way too. Were my eyes as entrancing as his? _Damn-I could stare at you for hours…_

Troy grinned. He looked like he was going to say something, but then a sharp voice that I recognized as Blondie's whispered to him, "Troy, what do you think of this dress?"

Troy sighed. My heart lifted-was he disappointed that he'd been interrupted from talking to me? Did he not want to talk to Blondie? _Could this be happening?! _He took the picture that Blondie handed him. "Looks good, Sharpay," he said.

Sharpay's perfect mouth stretched into a wide smile, exposing teeth so white that they glowed even in the darkness. "Cool," she said, leaning over to retrieve the picture. As their hands touched, she looked elated-but when I looked closely, I thought I saw Troy roll his eyes at her…

**A/N: Drama on its way? Review to find out! :D**

**Two so far! Keep it up please! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

_Ooh, you set my soul alight._

_Glaciers melting in the dead of night_

_And stars sucked into the supermassive-_

Finally, school was over for the day. I felt so free as I plodded down the sidewalk to the buses. Today felt like the longest day of my life. Taylor and I had already said our goodbyes; she was headed in the opposite direction as me. I continued down the long path, waving to some friends on the way. Finally, I got onto the bus, plopped down into the first seat I could find, and let out a long, exasperated sigh.

A head of tousled brown hair was beside me, which I ignored as I put my earbuds in. _Funny-I could have sworn I sat in an empty seat…_

"Gabriella, you're on my bus?!" I squeezed my eyes shut, praying that I was imagining that voice. _No, I am NOT on your bus! _When I opened them, my fears were confirmed-I was sitting next to Troy Bolton. _Dammit! Will I ever escape this guy?! _He had a slight glimmer in his gorgeous hazel eyes. I swallowed, kicking myself when the edges of the room started to blur.

Gathering my senses, I managed to say, "Obviously."

Troy laughed. _Why does he have to be so attractive? _"Wow, Gabi, I never knew you were funny." I almost lost consciousness when he said "Gabi." _Screw this. I'm just gonna wing it from now on._

"Well, now you do." I smiled effortlessly, drinking him in. He smelled amazing-just a hint of Axe cologne, left over from this morning. "So how'd you like our first day of purgatory?" I said, making small talk. _Wow-it's a lot easier to be cool when you stop trying._

He laughed again, and the sound was absolutely symphonious. _Symphonious? Who uses a word like symphonious? _"It was all right. Darbus's class was fun. She's a character, huh?" I thought I saw him blush-his perfectly even tan took on a pinker hue.

"Oh yeah. I can't wait till she actually teaches us something." He laughed again-quite a jovial fellow, wasn't he? I glanced out the window as the bus jerked to a stop, and sighed-I had to leave, just as things were warming up between us. I stood up, ready to leave.

"Bye, Gabi," Troy called after me. I jerked to a halt, relishing the buttery sensation that swept through me when he said my name. A thought crossed my mind. _No way, Gabriella! He'll never say yes! _Pushing all negative thoughts from my mind, I yanked my cell phone out of my pocket and tossed it to him, muttering "Put your number in."

Was it just me, or did he look as elated as I felt? Anticipation flooded my senses as he fiddled with the tiny plastic buttons.

"Here," he said breathlessly, tossing it back to me. "Call me so I can add you."

I nodded once, still shocked that I had pulled it off that easily. I was still nodding as I stepped off the bus. The second the bus pulled away, I looked down on the screen. There it was, in all its numerical glory-a series of numbers with a name, in bold, written above it-

_Troy Bolton._

************************************************************************

That scene, minus the number exchange, of course, was the reason I got up every morning for the next six months. Every morning I would get on the bus and undoubtedly see Troy sitting in the sixth seat down, smiling welcomingly. We would chat about random, pointless things until we got to school, and then we would depart until the end of the day, where we'd pick up the conversation exactly where we'd left off.

Fast-forward from September 3rd to February 14th, the day that changed almost everything. I was sitting in my World History classroom, minding my own business, when a senior student holding a single rose came in. I vaguely heard her whisper to the teacher who it was for, and she nodded knowingly. I dismissed the rose immediately, assuming it was for one of the popular girls in my class. After the Do Now, my teacher dropped it onto a very unsuspecting desk-_my desk._

Shocked, I looked at the teacher, who smiled and winked. _Creepy. _Brushing off the strange look on my teacher's face, I glanced down at the tiny namecard accompanying it to see who it was from. It read, in careful manuscript:  
_To: Gabriella Montez_

_From: ?_

I stared at it, feeling the tomato-red blush creep onto my face. My classmates eyed me with jealousy...until one of them noticed the namecard. She slapped a hand over her mouth and giggled, silently bursting into hysterics. The story circulated around the room faster than the air conditioning. I looked up into the face of one of my curious classmates, and, without thinking, threw the incriminating object under my desk. The rest of the day went by at an agonizing pace. In Chorus we had an assembly, so no one found out about the rose except Taylor and Martha. In Spanish, everyone giggled and told me it was probably a joke. I had never felt so humiliated in my life.

Finally, it was Drama, the last class of the day. Troy was waiting as always, leaning against the wall and chatting with a friend. He noticed me and smiled broadly, as if I'd made his day just by noticing him. Then he saw the rose under my arm. I blushed fiercely as his eyes widened, preparing for more banter.

His reaction was completely unexpected.

First, his eyes widened, as I said before. Then, his face turned the same shade as mine, if not darker. _Why should he be blushing over MY rose? _His eyes shifted nervously to the wall, to the rose, and then to my face. I must have looked confused, because an amused look crossed his face, making his hazel eyes glow. I sighed.

"Oooh, Gabi got a rose!" he teased, snatching it from my hands. When he saw the question mark, a strange look crossed his face, only to be quickly replaced by the teasing glow again. "A _secret admirer!_" he cooed. I slapped his arm playfully.

"S'probably just a joke," I said, serious again.

Troy averted his eyes from mine for a second, allowing me to stop hyperventilating. "Well, y'know, he could have been embarrassed. Maybe he was embarrassed."

He was the first guy to have introduced that scenario.

I remembered that the whole bus ride home.

**A/N: Gabi's got a secret admirer! Will she find out who? **

**This took a while, I know. FanFiction wouldn't let me log in…:o But thankfully that's been resolved! I'll update ASAP! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm soooooo sorry for the wait—I've been grounded (again) and my internet connection is gone until "further notice." Grrr…Thankfully, I still have an internet connection on the family computer. My updates are gonna be really slow though, so bear with me! And REVIEW! I'll give you cookies…**

**BTW, for future references regarding text convos: **

Gabriella_Taylor_**Martha****Troy**_**Kelsi**__Chad_

****************************************************************************

_How can you see into my eyes_

_Like open doors?_

_Leading you down into my core_

_Where I've become so numb…_

"Please don't make me do this," Taylor said, practically begging me. "If you're so sure of yourself, why won't you ask him?"

I laughed once without humor. "As if he'll tell me the truth. You and I both know guys too well to believe that."

Taylor groaned in exasperation. She knew I was right, but she still hated to give in. "I know you're dying to know if he's the one who sent you the rose, and I would be too, but you're making this more than it has to be. Let it go," she finished.

I rolled my eyes for the seven hundredth time, trying not to make a scene. "Come on, Tay. You've put this off waaay too long. He's standing right there! You have no excuse this time!" I smirked triumphantly as Troy looked over at me and Taylor and nodded once in acknowledgement. "Martha will be there if you freeze."

"Gabi!" she wailed, but it was useless-once someone got Martha to agree with something, it was impossible to make her budge. "What if he says something you don't wanna hear?"

I sighed heavily- the chances of that happening didn't weigh too heavily in my favor. But I absolutely _had _to know if he was the one to send it. Taylor knew that damn well. "Tay, just do it. The sooner you get it done, the easier this is gonna be. Besides, I'm leaving in like ten minutes. It'll be better if I'm not here."

"Fine. _Ugh._" I grinned as Taylor plastered a smile on her face as she plopped down into her seat. I followed suit. The second Miss Darbus walked in, a security guard called me out to go to the doctor's office. The entire time I waited for the telltale text message from Taylor- or Martha, I wasn't sure who would be the one to break the news. Finally, as my dad's ancient Buick LeSabre pulled onto the traffic on the highway, I felt the vibration in my back pocket. I couldn't flip open the phone fast enough to read it, but when I did, I wished I hadn't.

_It was a no. He said yes but it was sarcastic. I'm so sorry._

My breathing stopped for a second. I wanted to cry, but I refused to let the tears come. So Troy Bolton thought nothing of me that I hadn't imagined. My reality was, as usual, twisted and warped into the way I wanted it to be. As usual, I had read too much into his complexion changes, his word patterns, his everything. I had let my hormones rule my body and my thoughts, and as usual, it turned out to be nothing more than a simple friendship. I cursed myself for thinking there was more. The lyrics of Ray Charles' "You Don't Know Me" played back in my head, branding themselves into the messed-up tissues of my brain. Suddenly I realized that that was playing on the radio. Perfect-now I'd have background music for my quiet misery.

My dad picked up on my mood immediately. "What happened, Gabi?"

I sighed heavily and murmured, "Nothing, Dad. Absolutely nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing," he said, a crease forming between his eyebrows. "Is it a boy?"

_Ugh. Why does my dad have to know me so well? _"No. It's just…drama." _Drama that I definitely don't need at the moment._

"Are you sure?" His eyes were fixed to the road, but I could feel them boring into me, digging through my thin layer of composure to find the right buttons to push that would launch me into a full description of my school life, top to bottom. He always wanted every detail of that part of me, considering he was a teacher himself, but I just was NOT in the mood right this second.

"Positive."

Whatever. What did he say?

I pressed SEND and waited patiently for Taylor's reply. I tried as hard as I could not to look anxious, but a sidelong glance from my father told me I was failing miserably. I all but screamed with relief when Taylor's reply made my phone vibrate violently in my hands.

_U ok? This is y I didnt wanna do it._

I'm peachy. What did he say?

_He was like yeah I sent it but it was sarcastic._

What were his exact words?

_I was like "did u sent a rose to Gabriella montez" and he said "pffft yeah I sent one" and then I was like "we never found out who the question mark was" and then he was like "ohhhh THAT rose… no idk why shes so obsessed w/it."_

Obsessed? I mentioned it like once.

_That's weird…_

Weird indeed. I felt my pulse speed up. Maybe Troy was lying and he really did send me that rose!

Reality slapped me across the face and showed me how low the possibility was of _that _ever happening, but I ignored it completely and fervently prayed that things between Troy and I would stay the same…if anything get stronger.

Another vibration knocked me out of my fantasy. Speak of the devil...

**How's the dr?**

He remembered me saying that from this morning? Strange, yet electrifying. My thumbs couldn't reply fast enough…his phone had to stay on..!

Good, as far as dr's go. What did I miss in drama?

**Nm…sharpay got detention but tht about it lmao**

Rele? Why?

**The usual…she told darbus to calm ur tits hahaha**

Omg she must have been so pissed!! Lmfao thats priceless

**U hav no idea gabi. lmao**

His use of my name made my heartbeat more sporadic than before, if that were possible. I had all but forgotten about the rose when another vibration interrupted my conversation with Troy.

_This will make u feel better…sharpay got in trouble for telling darbus to chill her tits! Can u believe she would b that stupid?!_

Troy just told me…but he said she said calm ur tits.

_He tends to understate things._

Which, for some strange reason, made him all the more appealing to me. I even found Troy Bolton's quirks to be sexy…maybe this was what people referred to as falling in love. My mind tried to repel the thought, but with a defeated sigh, I realized that it was true- I had a major crush on Troy Bolton.


End file.
